Handcrafting a vibrant Arab world

Camel Straw Racing {Tutorial}

Camel racing is the sport of running camels at speed with a rider astride, over a predetermined course.

The sport is generally limited to running the dromedary—whose name is derived from the Greek verb dramein, “to run” — camel.

Camel racing is a popular sport in the Arab world in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. It can be traced to the 7th century CE.

Camel racing has come to be recognized as a great tourist attraction where traditional costumes and rituals are displayed.

We held our own camel race in the back yard, but instead of jockeys, we used straws to make our camels move.

Supplies

Cookie cutter
Pencil
Markers
Scissors
Tape
Straw (two sizes)

We started by tracing our camel from our our cookie cutter. We made 4 camels total.

We drew different blankets and numbers on the camels, then cut out the camels.

We cut the straw in half. These straws come in chocolate milk packets and are two sizes. If you do not have these straws, you’ll need two sizes so that one fits into the other. We taped the larger straw to the back of the camel.

We taped down one end of the straw shut.

Now we took our camels outside and got them ready for the race.

My daughters each picked out a camel, placed the smaller straw in the larger straw and then when I said GO, they blew into their straws to cause their camels to fly across the yard. After a while, we even brought out the measuring stick to start keeping track of who had the camel that went the longest distance.

We hoped you enjoyed learning about camel races and making your own. If you are looking for more cookie cutter crafts, please visit